Old t-shirts are never thrown away in my house. Do you know why? Because I love doing t-shirt surgery. It’s a DIY hobby that’s also the reason why I have a lot of tops that are one of a kind. And I say they are one of a kind because I literally styled them for me and didn’t buy them from anywhere else. Here’s how I do my DIY t-shirt surgery projects:

DIY T-Shirt Surgery (3)

  • Find an old top you won’t miss. Oversized is good and actually better for some projects. What I like most is turning an oversized shirt into a cute top that I can wear without it looking too big. It can fit you just right after the cutting and tucking in of certain parts. This will depend on the design you’re following, of course.
  • Look for a design of a top you want to do. Some require cutting the sleeves or neckline, while others only ask for cutting out the back to give the top a more stylish look. You can go with a no-sew project if you don’t trust yourself with a sewing kit.

DIY T-Shirt Surgery

  • Have you seen those t-shirts with cut-outs of patterns at the back? They look pretty easy to do, right? But let me tell you this: never, ever, cut without marking the areas first. You might cut it the wrong way. You might cut it too big or too small, and there’s no undoing what you’ve done. I think problems like these can still be remedied, but you might not get the style that you wanted. So always be careful. I use a tailor’s chalk to mark the areas to cut.
  • Always mark the areas to be cut before actually cutting. Have you seen those t-shirts with cut-outs of patterns at the back? They look pretty easy to do, right? But let me tell you this: never, ever, cut without marking the areas first. You might cut it the wrong way. You might cut it too big or too small, and there’s no undoing what you’ve done. I think problems like these can still be remedied, but you might not get the style that you wanted. So always be careful. I use a tailor’s chalk to mark the areas to cut.

DIY T-Shirt Surgery (2)

  • Try it on and make the necessary adjustments. There’s a possibility that the top you made won’t fit you perfectly the first time. I know this feeling, but you don’t have to give up. It’s easy to adjust the t-shirt with a few tucks here and there.

T-shirt surgery is a fun way to recycle clothing. Actually, when I feel like I want a new top but don’t want to spend on anything, I look for some old t-shirts I’m not wearing anymore and convert them to something new. You could also try doing the same.